PDF versionJob Summary
The incumbent serves as a coordinator for a quality assurance (QA) program for the national Forest Inventory and Analysis program. The incumbent facilitates national implementation of the USDA and FIA QA plan for the program and leads the program toward uniting separate QA systems into one package for efficient national implementation. For additional information about this position, please contact Michael J. Wilson at 801-625-5407 or michael.j.wilson@usda.gov.
Major Duties
- Use processes connected with forest inventory, remote sensing technology and the forest products industry to assure consistent and accurate reporting and presentation of data and to recognize disparities between comparable reports.
- Leads the national program to develop a system of QA that spans the planning of data collection and analysis, the repeatability and precision of field measurements, the models/equations, and statistical techniques.
- Serves as a consultant to scientists and professional and technical staff in all areas of research planning, data collection, information management and the choice and application of statistical methods and techniques.
- Develops metrics to monitor QA and quality control (QC) improvements to meet programmatic and customer needs.
- Performs broad review and analysis of adaptation of precedents, and interpretation of policies and procedures to assure the original plans and programs are sufficiently comprehensive to meet the QA requirements.
- Monitors how well the existing QC protocols serve the needs of the program, the program staff, partners and contractors.
- Provides assessments of reliability for the data as delivered to end users. The incumbent leads and participates in national and regional working groups to develop and monitor standardized data quality assessments.
- Peer reviewed journal articles and technical reports may be complied by the Quality Assurance Coordinator or with the incumbent?s assistance based on past FIA field seasons in collaboration with FIA and other Forest Service analysts.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 0401 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE SERIES Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major. OR Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field needed to perform the work of the occupation. BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 1530 STATISTICIAN SERIES Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. OR Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance. In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or experience are required for the grade(s) specified. For the GS-12 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level. Specialized Experience is defined as at least two of the following: Developing metrics to monitor quality assurance and quality control improvements to meet programmatic and customer needs. Using analytical skills to prepare and develop analyses of data and prepare and present the reports and manuscripts with cooperators and other scientists. Developing or conducting forest inventory including field data collection or information management. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Pay Range
$64,490.00 - $64,490.00